Choir's world premiere inStirling

One of Scotland's longest standing choirs performs the world premiere of ‘I Brought Your Name to the River' by Chris Hutchings on Sunday (March 18) at the Church of the Holy Rude, Stirling.

It's a new commission joint funded by the Edinburgh Singers and Creative Scotland.

The Edinburgh Singers is one of the capital city's finest non-professional auditioned mixed-voice choirs. Founded more than 60 years ago, it is renowned for vibrant and expressive performances of music from the Early Baroque period to the present day.

Composer Chris Hutchings said: “It's been great to have the opportunity to write a completely new piece for the Edinburgh Singers, which has performed several of my works in the past to great effect. I was also delighted to work with a living poet, Aine McAllister, who produced a wonderful layered and passionate text.

“The numbers and abilities of the Edinburgh Singers have made it possible to write sweeping harmonies and clusters few choirs in Scotland could perform well. My thanks go to Creative Scotland for funding.”

The new work is part of a programme from around the world conducted by musical director Alistair Digges. ‘Santiago' from Joby Talbot's work of pilgrimage, Path of Miracles, captures feelings of reverence and passion, while Eric Whitacre's moving ‘When David Heard' observes the grief of losing a loved one.

The choir is celebrating the music of Eriks Ešenvalds this year and has chosen for this programme his ethereal ‘O Salutaris Hostia' featuring two intertwining solo voices, and his emotional resetting of ‘Amazing Grace'.

The concert, Amazing Grace, is at 7.30pm in the church. Tickets from The Queen's Hall box office (Edinburgh) and Macrobert Arts Centre (Stirling), £12 (£10 concessions, under 12s free).